As the row over legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja’s comparison between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Dr BR Ambedkar, founder of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and Lok Sabha MP Thol Thirumavalan has entered the fray. Reacting to the issue on Wednesday, May 4, he said in a series of tweets that there are two ways to draw comparisons. “One is a direct type of comparing, such as saying sugarcane is sweet, fruits are sweet. The other type is to compare two things that are opposed to each other, for example, sugarcane is sweet, neem is bitter. Similarly, Ambedkar and Periyar are comparisons based on similarity. Modi and Ambedkar are polar opposites (sic),” Thirumavalan said.
On the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, a book was launched by BlueKraft Digital Foundation titled ‘Ambedkar & Modi: Reformer’s Ideas, Performer’s Implementation.’ Ilaiyaraaja had written the foreword for this, in which he wrote that the book “brings out some striking parallels between the personalities of Dr BR Ambedkar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both these striking personalities succeeded against odds that people from socially disempowered sections of society face. Both saw poverty and stifling social structures from close quarters and worked to dismantle them. Both dreamt big for India, but both are also practical men who believe in action rather than mere thought exercises.”
The comparison drew wide-spread criticism, as many viewed the comparison as an attempt by right-wing forces to appropriate Dr Ambedkar. However, Thol Thirumavalan’s response on Wednesday came after Gangai Amaran — lyricist, music composer and Ilaiyaraaja’s brother — vociferously defended his brother’s stance during an interview to a Tamil channel. In the video, which went viral, Amaran is seen shouting at the interviewer and passing comments on Thirumavalavan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. When the interviewer attempts to respond, Amaran shouts over and uses threatening gestures. The well-known lyricist had joined the BJP in 2017.
Sharing the viral clips of Gangai Amaran’s interview in his tweets, Thirumavalan also went on to add that it was impossible to equate Dr Ambedkar and Modi. “To claim that if Ambedkar was alive right now, he’d praise Modi is an attempt to saffronise him by sanatana dharma forces. It is a desperate conspiracy to completely swallow him up,” he wrote. He further went on to insinuate that the Paval brothers (as Illaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran are referred to popularly) may be “scapegoats of the Sangh.”
எதிர் எதிர் துருவங்கள்.
— Thol. Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) May 3, 2022
எனவே இருவரையும் நேர்மறையாக ஒப்பிட முடியாது. அம்பேத்கர் இருந்தால் மோடியைப் பாராட்டுவார் என்பது அம்பேத்கரைச் சங்கிமயப்படுத்தும் சனாதன முயற்சி. முழுமையாய் அவரை விழுங்கத் துடிக்கும் சங்கத்துவக் கும்பலின் சதிச்செயல்.
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